Dress up in Royal Exchange costumes to recreate painting and fight cancer

The five-star Lowry Hotel is to host The Grand Fancy Dress Ball to raise funds for the Maggie’s Centre in Manchester, which provides emotional, practical and social support for people with cancer.

The ball on Saturday 10 March will give guests the chance to channel their inner Queen Victoria or Captain Ross Poldark all in aid of raising funds for the charity.

The fancy dress ball was inspired by an event held nearly two centuries ago, captured in an oil painting in the Salford Museum and Art Gallery.

The painting, A Fancy Dress Ball, Manchester by artist Arthur Perigal, records the 1828 event when 3,500 people attended a fund-raiser for local charities at the Theatre Royal in Peter Street, Manchester.

Around 300 paid to be included in the painting, and one of them, a local man, Mr Peacock, who appears as the Knave of Hearts, won the raffle to keep it. He presented it to Salford in 1852, and it was restored in 1994.

The return of the ball comes after last year’s success of raising £17,000 for the charity from a selection of auction and raffle prizes, ticket sales and donations contributing to the fantastic sum.

Adrian Ellis, General Manager of The Lowry Hotel, said: “We are now in our second year of hosting Maggie’s Ball at the hotel, with each year proving to be a greater success than the previous year. Maggie’s is a charity close to our heart as the charity relies heavily on donations, which makes the ball each year even more significant.

“The painting is so striking, and it got me wondering why we couldn’t do something similar today with a local Manchester charity

“As it is a symbolic piece of Manchester’s history and The Lowry Hotel is the only hotel in the city centre to be named after an artist, it’s fitting that the ball will be inspired by a historic piece of artwork.”

Mr Ellis, added: “We have a lot of organisations who help to make the event possible each year, including the Royal Exchange Theatre who help bring the painting to life with their exquisite array of costumes.

“The Ball lets you leave 21st century Manchester behind for the evening and instead experience a magnificent evening at a replica grand ball from two centuries ago.”

Tickets are £99 per head and available from the Lowry Hotel 0161 827 4000 and from Maggie’s Manchester on 0161 641 4857 – ask for Emma Halman or Ruth Tobi.

A reduced rate is being offered of £45 for hire of the Royal Exchange costumes and includes all accessories, everything from boots to hats. Click here for more info.

For more details about visiting Salford Museum and Art Gallery click here.